The Annual Major Automotive Assembler Investment Announcements Report reports that $24.1 billion in auto assembler new capacity investments were announced globally in 2014, a 36.9 percent increase over 2013, but that none of that money came to Canada.

The report, prepared by the Office of Automotive and Vehicle Research and the Automotive Parts Manufacturers’ Association, also notes:

• the country has seen no new capacity investments in four of the last five years;
• Canada has declined from a high of 17.6 percent of North American assembly to 14.2 percent in 2014; and
• automotive jobs in Canada remain below the levels reached before the economic downturn of 2009.

Professors Tony Faria and Pete Mateja operate the Office of Automotive and Vehicle Research at the Odette School of Business, University of Windsor. It serves the Canadian automotive and automotive components markets.

The Automotive Parts Manufacturers’ Association represents producers of parts, equipment, tools, supplies and services for the worldwide automotive industry. Its members account for 90 percent independent parts production in Canada, worth $25 billion a year.